Blind box supervision should pay attention to algorithm transparency

In the past, consumers can get hidden models as long as they "end boxes" and "end boxes", and do not have to worry about being fraudulent, but now there is no certainty. Whether a person gets a certain product should be placed under supervision. The entire process should be transparent and traceable, that is, the rules need to be explained: why a consumer gets a certain one.

Author: Liu Yuanju

Figure: Tuwa Creative

Blind boxes are gradually derived from the hand to derive more forms, such as blind box apps. Consumers can draw smartphones, hair dryers, data cables, necklaces and other products on the APP. The price of blind boxes also rose from the dozens of yuan to one or two hundred yuan or even hundreds of yuan.

At the same time, there were many chaos. There are many fakes on the products on the Blind Box APP. Some consumers spend nearly 30,000 yuan, drawing two Gucci rings and a bracelet, all of which are fakes. Some parents also reflected that minors to download the blind box apps through advertising links to recharge consumption, ranging from tens of yuan, as many as thousands of yuan. Parents apply for refunds, and some platforms require 30%of service fees, and some platforms simply ignore it. On August 22, the special survey report of Blind Box APP consumption jointly released by the Sichuan -Chongqing Consumer Council confirmed these chaos.

When talking about the blind box, the first question to be answered: Is it gambling or gaming when drawing the blind box?

Compared to the Bubble Mart Blind Box, the products in the Blind Box APP are peeled off the collection attributes and become ordinary products. The starting point for consumers to buy blind boxes is no longer to get a special doll, but to want to draw the most expensive one. It is a profit. To some extent, it seems to be a gaming game.

But from a legal perspective, as long as the merchants who issue blind boxes do not conduct reverse acquisitions, even if they do not go to gambling or gaming. Blind box is just a good luck transaction. Shooting the contract means that the party's party pays the cost, but whether to obtain the return is accidental. The two parties do not pay equivalent to reach a contract, such as insurance. Simply put, consumers pay 100 yuan. If a data cable is obtained, consumers will lose; if a mobile phone is obtained, the merchant will lose. Of course, the combination of countless shooting contracts, business will not lose.

The uncertainty of a game with a lucky box will stimulate consumers. At the moment when it is announced, it is like touching a Mahjong card or playing card. Dopamine, this neurotransmitter can make humans more desire. This is one of the charm of the blind box.

In addition, in the case of social pressure, the commodity of blind boxes also has a lipstick effect to some extent. The so -called lipstick effect refers to the rise of lipstick sales when the economy is downturn. Because people no longer have the money to travel and buy luxury goods, they still have the desire to consume, so they will buy a cheap thing to satisfy themselves. From this perspective, the two years of blind boxes are relatively hot, which is also related to the impact of the epidemic.

For blind box operations, the law can not be prohibited; from the perspective of human nature, this is the needs of many people and the fun of many people; from a market perspective, it is conducive to promoting consumption. Therefore, blind box products will definitely exist and should not be completely banned.

However, this kind of uncertain -to -fired trading behavior requires high goodwill and strong supervision to restrict it in order to promote its standardized development. Based on high -value goodwill and long -term interests, large platforms and companies generally do not use information asymmetry to fraud consumers, or they will be more cautious because they are too high due to fraud. However, some small companies and small APPs are more likely to produce short -term behaviors, and they will leave with a vote, which will not support this kind of business model with extremely opaque information.

Relevant departments are also gradually setting rules for the blind box industry. In January of this year, the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau formulated and issued the "Guidelines for the Compliance of the Blind Box Business Activities" for the first time. For the first time, it is an economic regulation of a blind box. The price of a single blind box is generally not more than 200 yuan. ", Will never allow the color of the blind box. On August 16th, the State Administration of Market Supervision issued the "Guidelines for Blind Box Business Activities (Trial) (Draft for Soliciting Opinions)", which proposed that blind box operators should distribute the product distribution, the number of goods, the probability of the hidden model, the value of the product, the value of the product Conditional information such as scope is publicized in a significant way to ensure that consumers know before purchasing; blind box operators shall not sell blind boxes under minors under the age of 8.

But it is worth noting that the new rules have been a bit backward just after the new rules come out. To some extent, these regulations are aimed at hand -made blind boxes, and there are many rules that have not yet reached the blind boxes of pumping products. For example, there is almost no quality problem in hand, but there are many types of products in the blind box apps, and the quality has become a new problem.

More importantly, regulatory policies should also pay attention to the transparency of allocation of algorithms. In the past, consumers can get hidden models as long as they "end boxes" and "end boxes", and do not have to worry about being fraudulent, but now there is no certainty. Whether a person gets a certain product should be placed under supervision. The entire process should be transparent and traceable, that is, the rules need to be explained: why a consumer gets a certain one.

Only when the distribution process can be traced can consumers dispel doubts and ensure the development of the blind box industry. The draft of this solicitation is an opportunity to collect opinions and listen to consumer voices.

(The author is a researcher at Shanghai Finance and Law Research Institute)

In the city, I have to prepare 4,400 stocks to collect Yin Yin A shares.

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